The basic thrust of his article is that many American citizens have changed their opinions. Wrong, bucko, the American people have not moved towards the right; rather, it has been the Democratic party that has moved further left.

He notes:

“On the whole, 58 percent of voters see Democrats as liberal or very liberal, while 56 percent see Republicans as conservative or very conservative; no surprise there. But voters now place themselves much closer to the Republican Party than to the Democratic Party on this left-right continuum. Indeed, the ideological gap between the Democratic Party and the mean voter is about three times as large as the separation between that voter and the Republican Party. And, startlingly, the electorate places itself a bit closer to the Tea Party movement (which is well to the right of the Republican Party) than to the Democratic Party. All this represents a major shift from five years ago, when mean voters placed themselves exactly halfway between their ideological perceptions of the Democratic and Republican parties.”

Here, let me help you son. Americans didn’t shift their views, the Democratic Party did.

The Dem Party has been hi-jacked by the far left-wing of the party. The “blue dog Democrats” have been marginalized, or forced to play by Pelosi and Reid’s playbook lest they be marginalized.

The polls show that America is and always has been in my lifetime a right of central leaning country. Self-identified “liberals” only constitute approximately 20% of the population, and yet the liberals have a strangle-hold on the entire federal government, vastly out of proportion to the percentage of liberals within the general population. Now those in the middle who have always been uncomfortable with the ultra-liberal agenda are becoming uncomfortable within the Democratic Party. It’s that simple.

Galston continues:

“The Pew survey also shows that Democrats are far more ideologically diverse than Republicans. Twenty-four percent of Democrats describe themselves as conservative or very conservative, while only 5 percent of Republicans call themselves liberal or very liberal. Conversely, 65 percent of Republicans think of themselves as conservative or very conservative, while only 42 percent of Democrats self-identify as liberal or very liberal. This helps explain why 83 percent of Republicans see the Democratic Party as more liberal than they themselves are—while only 60 percent of Democrats place the Republican Party to the right of where they place themselves.”

Sheesh, son, you sound wet behind the ears. Let me help you some more. First, Republicans who describe themselves as “conservative” is a misleading class set because he does not specify terms. Many Republicans are fiscally conservative but socially liberal or moderate (think libertarians and “Country Club Republicans”). Many other Republicans are socially conservative but fiscally moderate or populist (e.g., Mike Huckabee). Together these two groups constitute a large portion of the Republican party, but on many issues they are sworn enemies.

Second, of course there are more “conservative” Democrats than “liberal” Republicans. Most logical persons within the two main groups of “conservative” Republicans are certainly not going to gravitate to the Democrat party. And since America is a right of center country, Republicans do not need liberals in their party in order to make a majority coalition.

However, Democrats need to garner some “conservative” support or they would always be in the minority. Liberals are a minority in America. So of course the Democratic Party is going to have to lie and pander to certain more conservative groups. Union members, Catholics, many southerners, etc. are naturally “conservative” but have historical dislike for Republicans. They view the fiscally conservative, socially liberal, typical northeastern elitist country club Republican as the face of the party, and they (rightfully, in my view) therefore want no part of the Republican Party. Many blacks are “conservative” on social issues but moderate or liberal on fiscal issues. And many of all of the aforementioned groups just continue in the Democratic Party because their fathers and grandfathers were Democrats.

But this isn’t their Grandfather’s Democratic Party anymore. Some of them just have not been paying close enough attention. It took the jolt from having a socialist/statist infest the White House and a Pelosi and Reid to run Congress to see how their party has been taken over and ruined.

I’m one of those Democrats who fled the party early. I’m one of the original “Reagan Democrats.” My first Presidential vote was for President Carter. I bear no shame for my naiveté–I was only eighteen years old. But thank God Carter drove me into the arms of the Republican Party, and I and millions just like me voted for Reagan, and a new coalition was born. Yes, we still have those God-damned country club and “Establishment” Republicans running the show. But we have more sway in our party than any conservative does in the Democratic Party.

Thus endeth the lesson. And to all you good Democrats still holding your noses and voting for the ultra liberal Nancy Pelosi agenda, you are welcome to come join the fight to save the Republican Party. We need all the good people that we can get to take back our party and our country.

12 responses to “William Galston at The New Republic is clueless”

My first vote was for Reagan, even though I wasn’t all that impressed with his performance as Gov of Cali. I suffered under Carter when I was in the USAF overseas.

Your article is spot on. Very nice how you lined everything up. I think even my 13 year old Granddaughter can understand it, so surely a so called, adult, voting Democrat could even understand it. You’d think, anyway. 😉

Everytime I see “Spatula City” in my stats counter I forgot it is your (excellent) blog and think it must be a spam to some kitchen appliance sales site. (I have a terrible memory.) Gotta be a story behind where the name came from, eh Darth?

Indeed, there is. Back in the early ’90s when I was just getting my feet wet in the old BBS (bulletin board system, for your newbies) world, I’d been bit by the wanting-to-have-my-own bug. I’d just bought an IBM clone just for that purpose, had it set up, and now I needed a name for it.

Was working as a security guard on the graveyard shift one particular evening during this time. Had my radio dialed in to a low-power station that had Limbaugh on replay (this was before the big blowtorch WBAP got the show). Now Limbaugh, during his commercial breaks, will occasionally play a spoof. During one of the breaks that night, he played the old “Spatula City” spoof from Weird Al Yankovic’s flick “UHF”

Inspiration struck. I had the name of my new BBS. Ran it for about four years or so, and the name has just kinda stuck with me ever since.

I worked the 12-8am shift security while I worked my way through college in the early 80s. Had several car-jackings about a block away. Had a friend who got accosted on campus after midnight as she was getting stuff out of her trunk to go inside. When the perp demanded her engagement ring at gunpoint, she took it off, threw it and her keys in the trunk and slammed it shut. He was so pissed he popped her in the forehead with the butt end, splitting her open, but not too bad. Another had her gold crucifix and chain ripped off her neck as she gave a stranger directions on campus in the middle of the day. And on and on. Did I mention that my college was in a shitty part of town?

John Doe, I think you are being just a mite too dogmatic. To some extent the public does change ideologically. Otherwise, that would mean all of us are too thick to learn from our experiences.

There is a saying I think Winston Churchill originated.

If you are not a Liberal when you are young, you have no heart. If you are not a Conservative when you are old, you have no brain.

Consider that we were all educated in the public school system, a socialist institution if there ever was one. Now the people who voted for Obama are having a new experience. We have entered the school of hard knocks. The votes of Obama’s supporters actually made a difference, and they are being held accountable. That jackass they elected is wrecking the country, and even they are beginning to understand.

Consider your own post, “What’s your excuse as to why you won’t admit that you regret voting for President Obama?” Of course, lots of people regret their vote. To anyone paying attention, Obama’s policies were not that great a surprise. The difference is that we can now see socialism does not work, and that is hardly a small detail.

Nonetheless, for the most part I agree with what you said. The Democrats have moved radically to the left (more than most understood), and the diehards are now trying to take the rest of us with them. I am just relieved to see that a lot of people besides myself don’t want to go. Unfortunately, a lot of others do. Since the Libs in power, we are seeing a struggle the like of which most people see only once in their lifetime.

I just do not buy the theory that millions of Americans have shifted from being liberal to conservative in the past five years. What is much more likely imho is that millions in the middle do not pay attention, do not use critical thinking skills, and just go along with whatever party is fashionable at the time.

When the party that was out of power gets in power, they start pursuing policies that the voters never wanted, they start spending too much, they start abusing the privileges of office. They become virtually as worthless as tits on a boar hog, and spend as much as the other party did, despite their vows that they would not do so if re-elected into power.

Then millions in the middle shift back again and say those bastards on the other side couldn’t do any worse, the voters throw that side out, and the whole cycle repeats itself.

Most hard core conservatives don’t suddenly begin to vote for liberals, and vice versa; partisans just look to replace worthless members of their party with “BETTER” members of their own party. But those idiots in the middle can’t differntiate between good and bad Pubs or Dems, so they just throw the entire party out of office. Granted, sometimes the entire parties NEED to be thrown out.

But I do not believe that suddenly America has become more conservative, just like I do not believe America suddenly became more liberal when Pelosi Reid and Obama were thrust into power. Hope this explains my views better.

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